Thursday, 3 July 2014

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market (PCR, FISH, aCGH, NIPT and MSS): Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" the global prenatal and newborn genetic testing market was valued USD 1.12 billion in 2012 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.9% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of USD 8.37 billion in 2019.

Prenatal and newborn genetic testing is referred to the utilization of screening/diagnostic procedures for a fetus or a new born baby to detect chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, Patau syndrome and Edward syndrome. These testing procedures enable detection of certain genetic abnormalities in as early as 8 to 10 weeks of gestation and also help to determine the sex of the fetus. According to Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, Down syndrome, open neural tube defects and trisomy 18 are the birth defects that 85% of women are advised to be screened or tested during pregnancy. Whereas, there are some tests which provides information about trisomy 13 and other chromosome abnormalities. Prenatal and newborn genetic tests are of two types, diagnostic and screening tests. Diagnostic tests helps to confirm the presence of certain genetic conditions in a fetus or a new born baby, while screening tests detects the chance of development of certain genetic abnormalities in a fetus or new born baby.

The prenatal and newborn genetic testing market is driven by increasing maternal age and late pregnancies, technological advancements and growing awareness about genetic disorders in the fetus. It was also observed that the prenatal and newborn genetic testing market is still at a nascent stage and have many opportunities such as capitalizing on potential markets in the emerging Asian, African and Latin American countries. In diagnostic techniques market, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) segment accounted for the largest share, as compared to FISH and aCGH. The PCR market is mainly driven by rising incidences of genetic diseases and forensics coupled with high process efficiency, better precision and reliability of the technique, and amplification. Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is the largest market segment in screening method and is expected to grow at highest CAGR of 37.6% from 2013 to 2019.

The North American region accounted for the largest share of the total prenatal and newborn genetic testing market. One of the key factors driving the growth of North America market is the non-invasive nature of the test that completely eliminates the risk of miscarriage associated with invasive tests such as amniocentesis and CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling).

The diagnostic testing techniques market consists of key players such as Bio-Rad Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Perkin Elmer and Ariosa Diagnostics. Agilent Technologies and Bio-Rad Laboratories are the leading players in diagnostic testing techniques market because of their dominance in reagents and instruments market. Major players of the screening methods market are Sequenom, Inc., Illumina, Inc. and Natera, Inc. Overall Sequenom, Inc. and Verinata Health are the major market players of the global prenatal and newborn genetic testing market because of their initial product launches in this market.